Saturday, January 24, 2009

Today I visited the greatest art event this season here,the exibition of Rembrant's graphics at the Museum for arts and crafts in croatian capitol Zagreb.

It was relly wonderful to see so many original artworks of one of greatest masters.I have seen some of Rembrant's great oil paintings and also a few graphics before.But today I saw for the first time so many of his graphics at one place.I'm impressed!

The exhibition is organised in colaboration with Alte Galerie LMJ in Graz,Austria and you can see all masterworks on the site of the Museum for arts and crafts .

Here are just a few photos I took with my cell-phone camera without flash.

Sunday, January 18, 2009

The erliest written record of Varazdinske Toplice (Varazdin's Spa) after the Romain period is the document signed by king Bela III in 1181 that stating that Varazdinske Toplice was given as a gift to Zagreb bishopric.The citizens were the tenants of Zagreb's bishop,they paid him a rent and owed him the service of repairing and maintaining the baths.The baths at that time,in the Middle Ages,were a very simple and crude.A woden structure with a roof was open on all sides and in the pools naked women and men bathed together.One of healing methods was bloodletting done by the people known as the barbers.From the late Middle Ages to the 17th century Varazdin's Spa was constantly attacked and ruined by Turkish hordes and ravaged by epidemics.An important period for Varazdin's Spa began in 1772,when Dr Jean Baptiste Lalangue was the town phisician in Varazdin,a town 17 km away from here,that was the capital of Croatia (at that time Croatia was a part of Austro-Hungarian Empire).Dr Lalangue was responsible for the town and county of Varazdin that includes also Varazdin's Spa.He was shocked with horrible methods of local barbers and imposed some rules they were obliged to follow.

"Constantine's Bath" on an old postcard:

A new stone bathhouse "Constantine's Bath" was erected when the old wooden bathhouse was destroyed in fire.Dr Lalangue introduced a number of sanitary regulations on proper use and maintanenace of the quality of the water and the baths. A phisician was permanently employed here from 1836.At the begining of the last century the bathhouses were renovated and here was built a luxurious new hotel "Joseph's Bath".

"Joseph's Bath" on an old postcard:

Here was also a grand new park where were found old Romain thermae I wrote about in my post below.

The entrance to the park and the portal from 1865 with parts of the Romain nympheumfrom 2th century and the inscription on Latine

Varazdin's Spa developed into a fashionable resort.But the luxurous hotel "Joseph's Bath" was destroyed during the World War II and bathhouses were damaged.From 1950 the spa becomes a big rehabilitation centre and hospital for rheumatic diseases and spinal enjuries.

Saturday, January 17, 2009

In the Romain times my little old town was known as Aquae Iasae.This name refered to the Iliric tribe Iasaen who inhabited the Panonian region of todays Croatia in pre-Romain period.Iliric word Iasaen means "the owner of hot springs" but we have not archeological remains of their knowledge of the healing powers of hot springs.

The archeological investigations carried out from 50th to the 80th years of 20th century revealed that Aquae Iasae was an important Romain settlement.Todays excavations could be carried out only in limited area because of the buildings of the later periods and today's settlement are practicaly built above the ruins of the Romain spa.

The first Roman thermae were constructed in the 1th century and in the 2nd century the thermae were rebuilt into a monumental complex provided with hot air heating system (hypocaust).

The spring of thermal sulfurous water with nympheum was in the centre of the complex and was rounded with the forum with arcades and the capitolium consisted of three temples dedicated to Jupiter,Juno and Minerva.

Aquae Iasae were destroyed during one of Goth invasion in the late 3rd century and reconstructed during the reign of emperor Constantin the Great.This Romain spa was destroyed in the late 4th century.

The epigraphs on stone slabs testify that the thermae served for the rehabilitation of wounded Romain soldiers.Here were found a lot of beautiful reliefs and statues as the relief "Three nymphs" (now in the Museum of Varazdin's spa) and statue of goddess Minerva (now in Arheological Museum in Zagreb).